


Into the wolf's den

by BlueberryPixie



Series: Vampire au [2]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: 2nd arc, F/M, Gen, M/M, Vampire AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-26 00:22:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13846128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueberryPixie/pseuds/BlueberryPixie
Summary: Vampires weren't supposed to retain their emotions after death, but after meeting Billy, a witch, Teddy rediscovered that part of him. Billy's back in town as a vampire himself now, and he and Teddy need to redefine their roles in the city, what they mean to each other, and to find a way to survive the nights in a city crawling with Kindred and other creatures who don't appreciate Cain's children. (An AU based on White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade, revised edition roleplay system.)





	Into the wolf's den

**Author's Note:**

> 2nd arc of the vampire au saga, continuing The Hunt

Bullets flew freely through the air, ricocheting off the walls and crates filling the warehouse. The man behind the machine-gun refused to shut up for a second, alternating between promises of torture, his obscure ideology, and simply uncontrolled, hysterical laughter. People like him were simple - all it took was Teddy and Eli breaking down the front door for him to open fire and dedicate his full attention to them. How easy it was for Kate to move into position on the beams overhead. The absence of henchmen was a disappointment, but also a relief - the less chances for a certain someone to indulge his newfound frustrations, the better.

"You guys don't deserve me for a guardian angel."

By the time their target realized there was someone else there, two arrows met his weapon's vulnerabilities, leaving it jammed, and its owner - an easy target.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

There wasn't much of a need for super-strength; it didn't stop Teddy, who was all over the guy as soon as he heard the arrows hit their marks. He beat into him with all his might, caring not for the obvious - that the guy was unarmed, weaker, and half blind thanks to one of Kate’s arrows. Vampires rarely cared for those things in the first place, but Teddy didn’t want to care right then; there was something there for him to beat on, so he did - until Eli grabbed his arm mid-swing and Kate held him at bow-point.

"Easy now, big guy."

"We need him alive, Teddy!" Eli reminded angrily and used his own strength to slow Teddy down as much as he could. The Gangrel snarled in disgust but slowed down enough for his comrades to stand down. He got one last punch in before turning away from the mangled corpse on the floor. Alive meant something different for vampires than it did for Kine, after all.

"Sigh… I hate carrying minced meat."

"Better than piles of dust," Eli countered; Kate grinned back.

"That's what vacuum cleaners are for! Surely you've heard of them, hm? Being a modern vampire?"

"Gimme a break-- oy, Teddy!" Eli called when his attention shifted and he finally noticed Teddy was well on his way out. Teddy waved over his shoulder in dismissal, making Eli growl in frustration. Kate meanwhile was amused, but kept her wits to her.

"Don't forget about Friday! No one cares about your moods, attendance is mandatory!"

Another dismissing wave and he was gone, leaving Kate and Eli to wrap up their prize on their own.

"You'd think he'd be over it by now," Eli growled as he began searching for a bag to put the pieces in. "It's been months, it's time he got over that stupid witch!"

"A witch who somehow made him feel again, Eli," Kate countered and retrieved her arrows before examining the machine gun.

"Please, we don't know that--"

"Then whatever spell he cast, is still in effect, so the result is the same. You'd have a hard time recovering from losing it, too."

"Which is exactly why I don't get involved with Kine, period."

"Yes, but consider this - you're also a stick in the mud."

"We can't all have your charming personality, Kate."

"Aw, you can be such a charmer when you want to be~"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Whatever. So long as he shows up on Friday."

That was one thing Kate couldn't argue with.

–

It's been months since Teddy's pact with Doom came to fruition and Billy was taken away. It was easy to say that Teddy's situation merely reverted to what it was before he ever met the mage, and in many ways, it has - if not for the fact that Teddy himself had changed. Billy changed him, made him feel again for the first time in decades - more, even, and now he was gone. Where before Teddy's actions were born of indifference and a touch of boredom, now it was different. The violence had a self-serving side, an obvious catharsis. In other words, Teddy was hurting, and he tried coping in the one way he had - taking it out on others, preferably with his fists. Because if he was hurting, why shouldn't the world?

Billy wouldn't want this, a distant voice whispered in the back of his head, making him growl.

Billy isn't here, either!

A poor homeless person wandered into an alley only to find a dislocated fire escape ladder and a misshaped dumpster with no explanation to how it happened save for the angry looking owl that flew past.

Needless to say, that attitude was problematic. By and large, Gangrels weren't the most sociable of tribes, refusing to get involved in the other clans' political and diplomatic games. However, it was still advised they at least played nice, within the clan if not without. That meant that for all Teddy's grief, he had to find a way to deal come Friday, for it was the nature of things that Vampires liked gatherings. Some liked to play, some liked to brag, some liked to complain about the waste of time. And to keep a pretense of solidarity and community within their nightly society, the Prince of New York, Nick Fury, would throw an occasional such gathering. Announcements were made, gossips were exchanged, and young Vampires were brought forward before release from their Sires' care so all would know what they now had to deal with. And as with all things the Prince ordered, attendance was not optional. The closer Friday came, the more frustrated and trapped Teddy felt.

"You should have a sudden trip out of town. Or get lost in the subways, that happens! No, wait, the Nosferatu would get you then… oh… oh! You could go into Torpor! I could even help, we'll say I frenzied or something! Ah, but then I'd have to get even weirder looking, won't I?"

Doreen Green. Like Teddy, she too was a Gangrel, though few members came even close to her ability to communicate with animals. Her specialty was peculiarly squirrels, and it manifested in her deformations as well. Now, the sticking-out teeth kind of made sense for a normal human, and the extra ears she could pretend were an attachment, holding on by pins or what not, but to this day Teddy never understood how she got by with that tail.

"Heeey, are you listening? Ok, we're clearly here now, but these ideas could be used next time, and-- ah! Tippy! Bad, bad!" she exclaimed when her squirrel ghoul sank its fangs into her shoulder. "I fed you before we left home!"

In all honesty, Teddy was grateful for the company. The young Gangrel always sought him out - persistently so, even - and right then her presence and antics were a very welcome distraction. It was enough to let him look around and take his surroundings, feeling not quite at ease, but well off enough to ride the change of pace to its fullest.

Packed inside the massive conference hall was New York's Kindred population, or damn well near all of it. Several small groups consisted of varied clan makeup - coteries, no doubt - but for the most part, the clans stuck together, each assigned an area. It was easy enough to spy Nate within the Ventrue bunch, as he either had a crowd around him, or he was trying to get into the middle of one. Watching him had always been exhausting, but it was all the more so ever since he lost Cassie several weeks back.

The former thrall was over by the Brujah area, a well lit gathering zone next to the empty throne set up for Fury when he deigned to make his appearance. Teddy wasn't sure about the details, but the general gist of it was that Nate got caught up in one of his Sire's feuds, and the punishment was losing Cassie - for one's bond to their master broke when they died, and one had to die to be Embraced. So there she was, as willful in death as she was in life, and conversing with Eli, who was appointed her mentor. It was decided by their elders that Cassie would join the coterie, and so between Nate's longing, Cassie's justified resentment of him, and Kate's ever persistent lust for the girl, things have gotten more interesting than Teddy cared to have them as.

Speaking of Kate, the archer was with the other Assamites, a mere handful who were suffered to stay in the city so long as they behaved, for the clan, if one could even call it that, was not part of the ruling faction. Kate was talking to Natasha, who was altering between talking and feeding on her human toy, one broken and tamed James Barnes. Teddy remembered him, as he did the familiar face over by the Toreador area - Steve Rogers, the hunter who almost managed to best him and Kate. The man was held by a leash, the end of which was held by the Toreador Primogen himself, Tony Stark. A frown twisted Teddy's face - is that what Kate did with him after the incident? Then what happened to his partner? Was she also made to be someone's pet? No, a person with such strong faith was too dangerous, she was probably--  
He shut his eyes tightly. The memory of that incident reminded him of things he was actively trying to forget, but thankfully, he had help.

"The~o~dore!" Doreen chirped angrily, as did Tippy Toe, blood drying over its whiskers.

"I told you not to call me that."

"And I told you to tell me when your coterie did something fun, but you never do. Guess neither of us gets what they want. And I DIDN'T WANT THAT!" The sudden exclamation came in response to a man who ran past, naked save for the red mask covering his face.

"You'll never catch me alive! Because I'm already dead, get it? Nyahahahaha!"

"Wade Wilson, get your butt back here this instant!"

"Every single time--" Doreen groaned, rolling her eyes. Teddy meanwhile was trying to rub the image out of his eyes.

"Why do they even invite him? Even for a Malkevian, he's way over the top…"

And yet someone was rearing and ready to one-up him. Large as the hall was, crowded as it was, silence still fell when Victor von Doom and his entourage walked in, leisurely making their way towards the rest of their clan. All Tremere present stood up and at attention, bowing lightly at their Primogen who was accompanied as usual by Sue Storm and--

"…what?" Teddy gasped softly when he noticed her. Clad in a flurry of red and draped in a long flowing cape was Wanda Maximoff, the elder Kindred who had left town shortly after throwing Teddy across a room almost as large as the one they were in. Yet there she was, standing tall and looking as regal as ever. Teddy felt a pang of something unfamiliar at the sight, for if Wanda was back, then maybe-- maybe--  
His eyes scanned the Tremere crowd, looking for the familiar face, the messy hair, those brown eyes, yet he saw none of that. All he found was a bunch of people he cared not for, and-- and three neophytes, the new Kindred to be introduced tonight, all of whom were wearing hooded capes as per the clan's traditions. Two of them stood out in their lack of distance from the clan's elders, all the more so whenever Wanda graced them with her attention. There was no need for her to bother, unless they were her progeny. A memory surfaced, of Billy with his fangs buried in his new Sire's neck, feeding blindly. Teddy's fists tightened, yet for all his efforts, he couldn't look away. It was possible Billy was hiding under one of those hoods. No matter how hard Teddy fought that possibility, it was too late - he had found hope, and now all that was left was to brace for disappointment.

"The Prince - Nick Fury - is in attendance. All rise!"  
There was no need to say that twice. When the tall, imposing figure entered the hall, all eyes moved to him, in his long coat and eye patch. He walked slowly, eying the hall intently. He was approached by his clan when he was close enough, forced to dodge attempts at light conversation by the elders, and to ignore the attempts of the younger ones to catch his eye. All throughout he never stopped moving until he stood by his throne. He looked over the hall one last time before sitting down, at which point all others relaxed and sat down as well or resorted to hushed mutterings.  
Maria Hill took her place by his side and spoke for him as she often did, the Sheriff hailing from clan Venture. There were many administrative notices, regarding, but not limited to - feuds between clans - the Venture and a specific subset of Brujah were given stern stares; the movements of warlocks and witches in the city; werewolves, ghosts, and a community of Fae-folk - where they were, and subsequently - where a vampire shouldn't be. The murmurs that statement enticed were rapidly reaching the levels of a commotion as concern escalated into a panic. For all their powers and abilities, vampires were still largely at a disadvantage against all those creatures, being born of humans. It took a gunshot and Fury rising to his feet, smoking gun still in hand, for it to even begin to die down.

"I don't recall asking for feedback!" he berated, voice booming above all else. "Primogen! At least pretend to keep your clans in check!"  
Once he deemed it peaceful enough, Fury returned to his seat, still shaking his head. Maria took a moment before speaking again.

"I understand how rattling the news is, but we will prevail, we will persevere, as we have before. And we will do so, in part, thanks to our children."

A mixture of excitement and incoherency filled the air until Fury cocked his gun loudly. Not missing a beat, Maria motioned to Tony, who stood up and straightened his suit.

"I see that as always, we refuse to leave the best for last, don't we, Ms. Hill? Very well, let's start it up with a bang instead." As he received not even a rolling of her eyes, Tony proceeded to introduce the newest addition to his clan, all of whom were dressed in tacky, flashy clothes - in other words, tasteless, Teddy always thought. Would he have felt the same had it been worn by anyone other than a Toreador, he often wondered. Was being Sired by a Gangrel made him feel that way? It didn't matter, ultimately, so he forced his attention back to the introductions - new Kindred occasionally meant new allies, and more often than not - new trouble. It wouldn't do to miss it.  
After the Toreador came the Venture, followed by Teddy's own Gangrel clan, then Nosferatu, the misshapen oracle-wannabes of the tunnels running under the city. The Brujah came next - Fury's clan - as befitting his tradition of randomizing the order. A hollow display of equality. This time Teddy found odd interest in the clan's announcements, as the name "Cassandra Lang" rang through the hall. Kate broke into cheers louder than the usual complimentary greetings, and he saw Nate wince across the hall. Eli was right behind Cassie, and gave an uncharacteristically hostile look around. Aw, was he being protective? How cute. Teddy might've bothered to tease him about it, but there were two clans left, and one's introductions were crucial. Finally as the Brujah representative sat down, Doom deigned to move, breaking out of his air of boredom. He cast his gaze slowly, then finally made a motion with his hand. Three robed figures stepped forward and Teddy tensed. The first to remove her hood was a girl by the name of Nico Minoru, and Teddy took note of the staff she carried with her. An important note - but this was not the one he was anxious about. Surely had he been alive his heart would've stopped when the next removed their hood, revealing a face Teddy had known all too well, longed for - yet was cruelly too different.  
"Thomas Shepherd," came the curt introduction. He looked around with his green eyes, a smug look smeared over his face. How aptly Tremere. Teddy realized with some distress still that he didn't seem familiar only because he resembled a certain someone - he had met him, that one time in Doom's office. So, he was a member of the clan back then already. That made sense-- and mattered very little when the last figure removed his hood, revealing one who might as well have been Thomas' twin, but was in all the right colors.  
"William Kaplan."  
With that, Teddy felt the heart that wasn't beating in centuries clench in his chest. And the best - and worst - part of it all? Billy was staring right at him.

"That is all," Doom concluded and sat back down. The rest followed suit soon after, and the attention went to clan Malkevian, the last clan unspoken for. By then, however, Teddy wasn't paying attention. He was staring back for as long as Billy held his gaze, and kept at it even when Billy had looked away, engaged in a conversation with Thomas.  
The rest of the night went by in a blur, and Teddy left as soon as he was able.


End file.
